h o o t

Each week Mouse and I go to Hootenanny class. It is led by Nerissa and Katryna Nields, and it is a truly sunny, happy morning ritual. Check out her smile in the picture - she wears it for the entire class until it is lullaby time, and then she sobs because she is so sad that class is ending.

I've been a Nields fan for years. Their songs were in countless of my college radio show set lists, "Hush Before the Heartbreak" and "Best Black Dress" were both on one of my most important mix tapes, and we played "Easy People" at our wedding. And, now, Mousie and I listen to their glorious, familiar harmonies each week. She lights up when I tell her it is music class day and does that bumpy toddler dance where she squats and pumps her bum in the air a few times. It kills me. It is, by far, one of the brightest spots in her week; we both leave feeling replenished and filled to the brim with nourishing good old fashioned folk music.

If you are local with a little person, you might really, really love it. Just like I do.

We are home from Thanksgiving with full bellies and happy to have spent time with loved ones. My parents gave us a GPS car navigator gadget as an early holiday present, so we had fun listening as our Australian guide directed us around New York traffic. Hah! Take that, Cross Island Parkway!

Mousie turned two years old yesterday. How can it be? Her rubbery, red, cheeky smile and her sweet little mouse kisses make my heart skip a beat. I can't even stand it. And, as it is with two, tonight at dinner she was smiling, shifting her eyes, and insisting on placing both feet on the table.